In traditional cranksets, a pedal is rotatively mounted to a crank arm by a spindle and can rotate freely on the spindle during the rotation of the crank arm caused by the pedaling movement of a cyclist. This free rotation of the pedal on the spindle results in the angle of the pedal being solely controlled by the positioning of the feet of the cyclist during the pedaling movement.
In most cases, when using these traditional cranksets, the angular positioning of the pedal during the rotation of the crank arm does not provide optimal thrust force, which consequently leads to loss of pedaling power.
For example, tests have shown that, when using traditional cranksets, the thrust force is effectively applied only between approximately 30 degrees and 130 degrees from an upward vertical position of the crank arm. Therefore, approximately 80 degrees of thrust force are lost during the downward push of the crank arm, between the upward vertical position and the downward vertical position, as a result of the pedal not being angled appropriately.
In order to address this issue, electronic devices are currently available for indicating the optimal positioning of the feet during the pedaling motion. However, these devices tend to be expensive and constrain the cyclist to permanently concentrate on the position of its feet, which can be tiring.
In view of the above, there is a need for an improved crankset and method for transferring power using same, which would be able to overcome or at least minimize some of the above-discussed prior art concerns.